Pennsylvania: Critz Says Altmire Does Not Qualify

The campaign of Rep. Mark Critz (D) declared in a Tuesday press release that Rep. Jason Altmire (D) does not qualify to appear on the ballot in the Pennsylvania Member-vs.-Member race in which the two men are competing.

The Critz campaign charged that while Altmire’s campaign submitted 1,651 signatures on its nominating petition, enough were invalid that Altmire did not meet the necessary 1,000 signatures to qualify to appear on the ballot.

Reasons that signatures were challenged included illegibility, duplication and omitted information, among other things. But the biggest charge is that an Altmire staffer who does not live in the district circulated petitions.

The Altmire campaign said it was looking at the charges.

“We will not comment on this until we have a chance to review the complaint but we feel very confident that Jason Altmire will be on the ballot and will be the Democratic nominee from Pennsylvania’s 12th district,” campaign manager Angela Ruslander said in a statement.

The Critz campaign filed its complaint in court Tuesday, but a hearing has not been set.

The Critz campaign released an internal poll last week showing he was 10 points behind Altmire in the primary, which is set for April 24.